1. Use locally sourced ingredients. Looking for a plum parking spot? Operators who use sustainable sourcing may receive preferential treatment. In January 2012, MIT invited alumnus Ayr Muir to park his sustainable food truck on campus. The Clover Food Lab joined just three other food trucks serving students and faculty. Richard Berlin, who was director of campus dining services at the time, says he chose to add Clover because of its sustainable food service. “Each truck concept is selected to add diversity among our truck offerings,” he says.

2. Offer wood-fired cookery on wheels. Wood-fired ovens have been used in various types of restaurants for years. Fox Pizza Bus recently gave a new meaning to the term “hot wheels,” when the Los Angeles-based company brought wood coals aboard its supersized food truck in 2012. In many areas in the U.S., wood, a renewable source of fuel, is in plentiful supply.

4. Power a food truck with recycled cooking oil.Snap, a food-truck company in New York City, recycles the organic peanut oil it uses to cook french fries. The oil is turned into biodiesel to fuel the truck. Owners Liz and Zeph Courtney also source organic, grass-fed beef from regionally raised livestock.

About Jan Fletcher

Jan Fletcher, President of Dreamcatch Creative, reports on restaurant operations, the signage industry, and composite manufacturing. She also writes about technology in business and education, and is passionate about microenterprise.